Your EV Can Work as a Home Battery

Your EV's battery can do more than power your drive. With a compatible vehicle and system, it can store your solar for the evening and back up selected circuits in an outage. Through eligible utility programs, it can also earn you money for sharing energy with the grid, depending on your utility, state, vehicle and equipment.

An isometric model of a home energy system on a white base: a house with solar panels on its roof, an Emporia Pro charger mounted on the garage wall, an electric car parked nose-first at the garage and plugged in, and a utility transmission tower
By day, solar charges the car After sunset, the car runs the home

Choose a scenario to see how it works.

Store the Energy You Generate

During the day, your panels can charge a compatible EV. After sunset, the car covers your home's load without exporting to the grid.

Read the V2H guide

Backup for the Essentials

When utility power is out, your EV can supply selected home circuits, within limits set by battery energy, system output and which circuits are connected.

Read the V2H guide

Energy the Grid Can Call On

Participating vehicle-to-grid programs coordinate energy from eligible EVs to help meet grid needs, and some pay you for it. Your utility, state, vehicle and equipment determine whether, and how, you can take part.

Each use has its own requirements, and grid programs vary by utility, state, vehicle and equipment.

Read the V2G guide

Use Stored Solar Energy at Home

Electric car charging in a suburban driveway with rooftop solar panels in the midday sun

Vehicle-to-home (V2H) lets a compatible EV supply electricity to your home. With a system that supports solar charging and home discharge, you can store solar energy in the car during the day and use it at home in the evening. Confirm any zero-export setting and utility requirements with your installer.

The same setup lets you charge your EV at one time and use that stored energy at home later. The value of that flexibility depends on your driving needs, what your system supports and your electricity rate plan.

Read the V2H guide

Can V2H Power Your Home During an Outage?

At night, a home lit warmly during a neighborhood power outage, with its electric car plugged into a wall charger

With a system designed for outage backup, your EV can supply selected home circuits when utility power is unavailable. What it powers, and for how long, depends on the equipment, available battery energy and household demand. Battery energy, measured in kilowatt-hours, shapes how long backup can last, and system output, measured in kilowatts, sets how much can run at once. Your starting charge and the energy you keep for driving change the result too.

Read the V2H guide

Get Paid for Sharing with the Grid

At dusk, a home with its electric car plugged in, with a utility pole and power lines along the street

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) sends electricity from an eligible EV to the utility grid. Participating programs coordinate that energy to help meet grid needs, and some pay you for it. Your utility, state, vehicle and equipment determine whether, and how, you can take part.

PG&E's V2X program in California offers upfront and performance incentives, with enrollment open through June 30, 2027. Tesla's Powershare Grid Support is available for Cybertruck in limited markets and is unavailable for Model 3 and Model Y. Check each operator's current eligibility and payment rules before buying equipment.

Read the V2G guide

What's the Difference Between AC and DC Bidirectional Charging?

The key difference is where battery power becomes electricity your home can use. An EV battery supplies direct current, or DC. Homes use alternating current, or AC. Bidirectional systems handle that conversion either inside or outside the vehicle.

AC bidirectional charger DC bidirectional charger
How it works The vehicle converts battery power to AC before sending it out. The vehicle must support that function, and the connected equipment must support the intended home or grid use. The vehicle sends DC power to external equipment, where it is converted to AC. This requires a vehicle that supports DC export and equipment designed to work with it.
What it costs The vehicle does the converting, so the wall equipment can be simpler. Whole-home backup usually still needs a battery or gateway alongside it. The converter is built into the charging equipment, which tends to make it the more expensive piece of the system.
Which vehicles A short, confirmed list today, and it is exact: a specific vehicle with specific equipment, enabled by specific software. Not brand-wide. Also a short, exact list. Confirm the specific vehicle, software and equipment before ordering either way.
When Depends on the vehicle, your home setup and the software it runs. Depends on the pairing and your location. Manufacturer forecasts are not delivery promises.

Pairings and prices change often and vary by configuration. Ask for a quote that covers the complete equipment setup, electrical work, permits and utility approvals, and confirm the exact vehicle and equipment pairing before ordering.

State of the Technology

Some vehicle and equipment combinations are available today, but support varies by model, system, function and location.

Home backup requires a confirmed vehicle and equipment pairing, with the software that enables it. A car that can power devices through V2L may not support home backup, and a home backup system may not qualify for grid export. Confirm the complete combination, the functions it supports and any local requirements with the vehicle maker and the equipment provider before making plans.

On standards: ISO 15118-20, published April 2022, defines the communication for bidirectional power transfer, and meeting it does not establish that a particular vehicle and charger work together. UL Solutions launched an AC vehicle-to-grid certification program in September 2026 for equipment with onboard bidirectional inverters. Certification and local interconnection approval are separate requirements, and utility rules differ, so ask your utility about its own process for outage-only discharge and for exporting while the grid is running.

Emporia began with circuit-level visibility and has grown into a home energy management platform that connects energy monitoring, EV charging, batteries, automation and utility programs, now in more than 400,000 homes. Emporia is developing a bidirectional charger and coming to market with a product.

A modern wall EV charger mounted beside a tidy home electrical panel in a bright garage

At a Glance

ISO 15118-20
Published April 2022; defines communication for bidirectional power transfer.
UL 1741 Supplement SC
AC V2G certification program launched September 2026, for equipment with onboard bidirectional inverters.
Utility rules vary
Outage-only discharge and exporting while the grid runs are usually approved differently. Ask your utility about its process.

Explore the Guides

Understand the use case, then explore what it requires.

Frequently Asked Questions

Check the exact model and model year with your vehicle manufacturer, including any required software and supported equipment. Support for one use, such as powering devices, doesn't mean support for home backup or grid export. Look for a confirmed vehicle and equipment pairing that supports your intended use in your location.
It depends on how much battery energy is available and how much electricity your backed-up circuits use. A system supporting a few essential loads may run much longer than one also supplying air conditioning, electric heat, cooking or water heating. Keep a driving reserve, and use the vehicle or system's live estimate when one is available.
Requirements depend on whether you want outage backup, everyday home energy use or grid participation. A qualified installer can assess the equipment, electrical work and approvals your setup would require.
Not necessarily. Home backup and grid export are different functions with different requirements. Grid participation requires a system that supports it and eligibility under your utility's program.